Visit to Gangtok

Gangtok is a hill station located in the eastern Himalayan range. Situated at an altitude of 5600 ft, Gangtok is also known as Switzerland of the East for its cleanliness. It is the capital city of the state of Sikkim. Gangtok is also a popular tourist destination. The city offers beautiful views of the surrounding hills and Mt. Khanchendzonga from the town itself. Gangtok also serves as a tourist base for visiting places like Tsomgo Lake, Nathula, Lachung and Yumthang Valley. This time in the month of June I went to Gangtok.

River Teesta (On the way to Gangtok)

From Kolkata station, we boarded 12363 Kolkata-Haldibari Express. The train left the station at 09:10 hrs and reached New Jalpaiguri at around 19:05 hrs, just 15 mins behind scheduled time. We came out of the station and took a cycle rickshaw and told the rickshawala to tale us in a hotel. where the hotels. We found a room at Hotel Miami. The rooms of the hotel were quite clean but not very good. After keeping our luggages and getting fresh we went down to have dinner. We had our dinner at the restaurant below our hotel.

Gangtok

The next day we went to Siliguri by auto. We went directly to Sikkim Nationalised Transport bus stand but found that no buses to Gangtok were running that day. So we came to a jeep stand opposite to the S.N.T. bus stand from there Gangtok bound shared cars and jeeps were running. I bought the tickets. Each ticket from Siliguri to Gangtok costs Rs. 200/-. We had to wait for a long time as two of our co-passengers had gone for shopping in the market. After waiting for about half an hour our car started towards Gangtok. The journey was mind blowing with the river Teesta flowing by our side most of the time. On the way we had lunch at a small dhaba. After about 6 hours we reached Gangtok. It was quite cold there.

Do Drul Chorten Stupa

We took a taxi from the stand where our car had left us in order to reach Gangtok. All cars which go from Siliguri to Gangtok does not enter the city of Gangtok but enter the Deorali Stand from where you have to hire a taxi in order to enter the heart of the city. The taxi charged Rs. 150/-. We were taken to a hotel named Lasso Residency. It was located near Assembly House. Though the room was clean and good, we could not get any view of the hills or even the roads from the room.After keeping our luggage in the room we came out to experience the marketplace of Gangtok at night. There were numerous shops selling  variety of items ranging from umbrellas and bags to toys and jackets to food and jewellery. While roaming, we came in front of Hotel Paradise. As I was not satisfied with our hotel I decided to have a look at their rooms. The room was good and so we decided to change our hotel the next day. We came back to our hotel and had lunch there. The food was not good but it was expensive.

Cobra Lily at the Flower Show Complex

The day after we changed our hotel. After having lunch we went to a local taxi stand. There we hired a taxi for local sightseeing. The charge was Rs. 800/-. First we were taken to the Ropeway at Deorali. I decided not to ride on the ropeway as it would take time. Then we went to Do Drul Chorten Stupa. After that we went to the Research Institute of Tibetology which was situated near the stupa. There we saw a number of old coins, manuscripts, idols etc. From there we were taken to the Directorate of Handicrafts and Handlooms. There we saw a number of handicraft items of Sikkim. You can also buy handicraft items from there. Then we went to the Flower Show Complex. By the time we reached there it started raining. Somehow we went through the open space to the shedded area where the flowers were kept. It was a type of green house. There were innumerable types of flowers. The beauty of the flowers made us open our mouth in amazement. As it was still raining when we were about to come out, we had to buy an umbrella which was being sold there at a price of Rs. 250/-. After that we got into our cab.

View from Ganesh Tok

Then we were taken to Ganesh Tok. The place offers magnificent views of the town of Gangtok and the surrounding hills to the tourists. It also hosts a temple of Lord Ganesh. But when we reached there, we could see nothing of the hills and distant houses as everything was covered with clouds. It took a while for the clouds to clear the surrounding area. During that time we waited. The entrance to the Himalayan Zoological Park is located in front of Ganesh Tok. But as it was Thursday, the zoo was closed. From there we went to the Lhasa Falls. It was a small waterfalls. By that time the sun was up again and it was clear and bright.

Lhasa Falls

After staying there for some time we got into our taxi and headed off for Bakthang Waterfalls. On the way we saw the Ganjong Monastery which was closed at that time. At last we reached the falls. From a distance we were able to hear the roar of the water coming down. The falls was quite large. It was magnificent and mind-blowing. Tiny droplets of water hit our face as we stood there mesmerised. Then we went back to Gangtok. Our taxi driver did us a favour by dropping us in front of our hotel.

Bakthang Waterfalls

Continued to Visit to Gangtok (Part - 2)

How to Reach :

12363 Kolkata-Haldibari Express departs Kolkata station at 09:05 hrs and reaches New Jalpaiguri at 18:50 hrs. 12343 Darjeeling Mail leaves Sealdah station at 22:05 hrs and reaches New Jalpaiguri at 08:00 hrs. 12377 Padatik Express leaves Sealdah at 22:55 hrs and reaches New Jalpaiguri at 09:05 hrs. Hired cars (Tata Sumo, Mahindra MAXX and Bolero) are available from New Jalpaiguri and Siliguri. Buses are running from S.N.T. Bus Terminus in Siliguri.

Nearest Airport - Bagdogra Airport

Where to Stay :

New Jalpaiguri
Hotel Miami, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 400, Tel: 9332232897
Hotel Holydon, Tel: (0353) 2691162
Gangtok
Greendale Residence, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 4500-4900, Tel: (03592) 201400
Hotel Babumashai, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 1500, Tel: (03592) 204030
Hotel Himalaya's, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 1500, Tel: (03592) 202842
Hotel Woodland, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 1000, Tel: (03592) 203414
Hotel Paradise, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 800, Tel: 9832036610

Places of Interest :

The prime attractions of Gangtok are Ropeway, Rumtek Monastery, Tasi View Point, Ganesh Tok, Bakthang Waterfalls, Banjhakri Falls, Himalayan Zoological Park and Research Institute of Tibetology. Other attractions include Hanuman Tok, Lhasa Falls, Do Drul Chorten Stupa, Enchey Monastery and Ganjong Monastery. There are three excursions from Gangtok - Nathula Pass, Tsomgo Lake (Changu Lake) and Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir which can be covered in a one day tour from Gangtok (Rs. 800-1000 per head). Indian Visitors are allowed to visit Nathula Pass on all days except Monday and Tuesday. Another conducted tour is the Yumthang Valley Package. It is a 1 Night 2 days tour (Rs. 1200-1400 per head) consisting of Lachung and Yumthang Valley. You can also go for the Gurudongmar Lake package which is 2 Nights 3 Days (Rs. 2400-2800). The tour consists of Lachen, Chopta Valley, Gurudongmar Lake, Lachung and Yumthang Valley. You will be required to produce xerox copy of Voter ID Card and two passport photos of each member of your family to the travel agency for permit.

For more information, please contact :

Sikkim Tourist Information Centre
M.G. Marg, Gangtok,
East Sikkim
Tel: (03592) 221634